


Make it Last

by 7Moments



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Bittersweet, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Post-Game(s), Swearing, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-24 23:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13821828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7Moments/pseuds/7Moments
Summary: Mae and Bea head out to another party, and, as usual, things do not go as planned. Mae finds an unlikely ally when a bombshell revelation leaves her stunned and the night takes a turn for the worse.





	Make it Last

There was another party coming up and Mae Borowski was not looking forward to it.

This had a lot to do with the fact that the last two parties she had attended had turned into complete disasters. One of them had ended with her passed out drunk after throwing up in front of her ex. The other had ended with her horribly embarrassing her best friend Beatrice Santello in front of her fancy college friends. The two had made up, sure, but another party was just another opportunity for Mae to embarrass herself-or someone else-as far as she was concerned. Still, Bea wanted her to come, so she promised she would.

That Friday, Mae agreed to meet Bea in front of the Borowski household at six o’clock sharp. They were going to drive out to the woods again, where a group of twenty-somethings had arranged a get together with alcohol, food and music in a small clearing. Nothing wild, but it gave Bea a break from her usual evening routine.

At ten to six, Mae got up from a nap, slung on her favourite snug jacket (there was still a nip in the air in springtime) and trudged downstairs with apprehension building in the pit of her stomach. She would do anything for Bea, but she was starting to regret agreeing to this.

Bea was already waiting outside, leaning on her car, dressed in her usual black attire. Seeing her familiar figure immediately helped Mae relax a little as she took a deep breath. She was just going to a party with her friend. How much could go wrong, really?

“You’re early.” Mae remarked as she approached the car, trying to sound confident.

“ _Some_ of us around here like to be punctual.” Her friend replied dryly.

Mae’s lip twisted.

“Can I drive this time?”

“I’m sorry, do you have a license?”

“Alll-most!”

“Then no.”

Mae mock-pouted but clambered into the passenger seat as Bea slipped in behind the steering wheel. As they pulled away from the curb, Bea glanced over at Mae’s small, pudgy form.

“Okay, I think we-“

“No cigarette.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t have a cigarette today, Bea.”

Bea rolled her eyes.

“I _am_ trying to quit, you know.”

“I know. I’m just pointing it out. So you know I notice these things about you.”

“I’m… flattered.” Neat little rows of houses passed them by as they headed for the edge of Possum Springs.

“Anyway, as I was saying-“ Bea started again.

“Are you drinking at the party?”

“Mae-no, I’m driving!” Bea spluttered.

“I mean, like… I can drive if you want to drink. Just saying.”

Bea grit her teeth so hard Mae could almost hear them grinding together.

“Mae. You do not. Have. A license.”

“But I _can_ drive.”

“Can you explain that to a police officer if we get pulled over?”

“Why would we get pulled over?”

“Because you look like a child.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“Look, when you have your license, I will let you take my car out, okay?”

“Fine. Sorry. I’m just nervous.” Mae muttered. There was a pause as Bea pulled onto the highway, then the taller girl shot her a concerned look.

“About the party?”

“Yeah.”

“It’ll be okay.” Bea said tenderly “As long as you don’t get absolutely wasted again. Which is what I was _trying_ to talk to you about. I think we need some ground rules for tonight.”

“Like?”

“Number one: You do not touch alcohol. Under any circumstances.”

Mae had a sudden flashback to spattering her ex-boyfriend’s shoes with chunks of taco.

“…Agreed.”

“Number two: You do not take drugs from anyone who offers.”

“Like I would do that.”

“I don’t know, Mae. I’m pretty sure one time I smelled weed in Gregg’s apartment. You might have picked up some bad habits from him.”

“Now that you’ve said that I’m kind of offended he didn’t invite me over.”

“No drugs, Mae.” Bea said flatly.

“Sure.” said Mae, trying not to laugh “What’s rule number three?”

“Rule number three is where you don’t make comments about what I may or may not actually be doing when I’m talking to out-of-town college kids.”

That stung a bit. Not that Mae could pretend she hadn’t earned it, after last time.

“Alright, alright. I won’t embarrass you in front of the hot college boys this time, I promise.”

Bea gave her a long, hard look. Mae’s bright eyes locked with her cool, dark ones, and the two stared at each other for what felt like an age. Eventually Bea nodded, seemingly satisfied that Mae was being sincere.

“Okay. Thanks.”

Mae breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this party wouldn’t be an absolute nightmare.

They turned off the highway towards the wooded hillside, far beyond the back limit of Possum Springs. The sun was sliding behind the hills in the distance and casting an orange glow over the countryside, as the car tootled along an empty road.

“One more thing though.” Bea continued.

“Yeah?”

“Jackie’s gonna be there again tonight. And I want you two to at least try to get along, alright?”

Mae’s stomach sank like a rock. The anxious feeling spiked again. Her throat felt dry. She had visions of standing in the rain, looking desperately for Bea in the dark, starting to panic. A sharp voice echoed in her head “ _I always told Bea you were an asshole._ ”

This party was going to be extremely awkward after all.

To say that Mae was wary of Jackie was an understatement. And to say that Jackie didn’t much care for Mae was even more of an understatement. Mae couldn’t imagine anything more awkward than trying to make casual conversation with her.

“You know, she’s really nice when you get talking to her. She’s a good friend. If you two gave each other a chance you’d probably like each other.” Bea said with an oddly shy tone.

Mae scowled.

“Bea, we are never ever gonna be friends. She hates my guts. And I can’t blame her.” A fresh wave of guilt washed over Mae. But mixed in was something else-jealousy? “ _She’s a good friend.”_ _Well of course she is_ , a little voice in her head chimed in. _She’s cool. She got to college. She’s everything Bea could want in a friend_. _Not like you,_ the little voice carried on, its tone getting mean _. You’re just the loser she sticks with because all the cool people have gone._

“I’m just saying.” Bea continued slightly impatiently “It would be nice if my friends could all get along.”

“What am I supposed to say to her?”

“Really? You can square up to ghosts, no problem, but one person at a casual get together is too much for you?”

“No, but, like… how can I make her see that I’m a cool, fun person and not just an asshole?”

Bea shrugged “Just be yourself.”

“Oh my God, Bea, that is a _terrible_ idea!”

“Jeez, Mae, I didn’t realise you needed babysitting at your age.” Bea sighed heavily.

“Then why did you bring me along?”

“Because…!” Bea’s voice suddenly dropped “Because… I didn’t feel confident enough to come alone, even if I wanted to. And besides, I want you here. You’re my best friend.”

A warmth rose in Mae’s chest at those words. _There you go,_ she thought _. She really does want you around even now. You’re a good friend too._ “Thanks for inviting me again.” she said quietly.

Bea glanced at her.

“You’ll have fun. I promise”

“Sure” Mae gave a nervous smile “No alcohol, no drugs, just be myself, show everyone what a cool person I am and try to get along with everyone. Nothing easier.”

“Are you trying to reassure me or yourself?” Bea laughed.

The inside of the car got dark as the road plunged into forest. Shadowy trees rustled as they rushed by. Mae shivered and tugged the zipper on her jacket up. Just then they came upon a clearing in the forest with a large bonfire in the centre. People milled around the fire, talking, laughing and drinking beer. Several cars were already there, and Bea parked up on the grass next to them before turning to Mae.

“Ready?”

“I guess!” _Just relax_ , she thought. _It’s a party. Parties are fun!_

They simultaneously opened their doors and stepped out. Bea took a deep breath and glided gracefully towards the bonfire. Mae tried to copy her and tripped over her feet before catching up.

“Hey, not so fast!”

Just then she saw a familiar face behind Bea. A tall, confident looking woman with glasses and piercings stood talking to some boys she didn’t recognise. Jackie. She hadn’t seen them yet. Could she hide? Mae looked frantically around. A large table had a crowd gathered around it. She dived into the crowd. Oh no. They were pouring out large cups of beer from a big tank and she had promised not to drink, hadn’t she? She pushed her way back out again. Bea was standing talking to Jackie now, looking around as if she had lost something. Mae heard the words “She was here a second ago…” float across the clearing. They were talking about her. Why were they talking about her? She grumbled under her breath and slowly made her way over to them.

“Heyyy guys!” she drawled with a disarmingly large fake smile.

“Oh, there you are.” Bea frowned “Where did you wander off to?”

“Nowhere! Nowhere. My… uh… laces came undone”

_Oh God, I hope I’m actually wearing my lace up boots,_ she suddenly realised. Fortunately Bea seemed satisfied with this explanation and both she and Mae turned towards Jackie.

There was an awkward pause as Mae and Jackie stared at each other, but before Mae could say anything the other woman gave her a curt nod.

“Mae.”

“Uh… hi.” Mae replied.

“It’s okay.” Jackie said “Bea told me you were coming. Besides…” The corners of her mouth twitched “This isn’t my own gig, so I’m not allowed to throw out people that I don’t like.”

Mae laughed in a way that made it obvious she saw nothing funny about anything at all.

“That’s great. That’s just great. Wow. It’s so good to see you again.”

Jackie snorted, folding her arms.

“I’m sure it is. Alright, come on, let’s go have some fun.”

Bea nodded at a group of college aged boys on the far side of the clearing.

“I think I recognise one of those guys. I’m gonna go say hi.”

“I’ll come.” said Mae and Jackie in unison.

“No, no, you two stay here! I’ll be right back.”

“Are you really dumping your child on me, Beatrice?” Jackie sniffed.

“I’m sure you’ll get along just… fine.” Bea gave her a haughty look before she swept off across the clearing, leaving Mae and Jackie alone.

Silence. _This is stupid_ , Mae sighed. _What was she supposed to say to Jackie? How are you? Sorry for ruining your night that one time? Do you like my shirt?_

“I’m not a child.” was what she actually blurted out.

“I’m sorry?” Jackie looked disapprovingly down her nose at Mae.

“I’m not a child. I can drink and drive… I mean… not at the same time.”

“Right…”

“You don’t have to treat me like I’m an idiot.”

“Okay. I’ll stop treating you like an idiot if you stop showing Bea up on her nights out.”

Mae groaned.

“Look, I’m sorry I messed up back then, alright? You were right. I was an asshole. Is that better?”

Jackie pushed her glasses up her nose with her finger.

“A little. But I don’t have to like you. You get that, right?”

“Fine. But can you at least tolerate me for one night, for Bea’s sake?”

There was a pause.

“Fine.” Jackie glanced around “Where did Bea even go?”

“You mean you lost her? She’s supposed to be your friend.”

“She’s supposed to be yours too, yet here we are.” Jackie retorted.

“Touche.” Mae narrowed her eyes.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Bea! There you are.” Mae cried. After ten minutes of searching, they had finally found her standing back in the woods a little way away from the bonfire.

“Oh, were you looking for me? Sorry, we were just getting into modern socio-economics…”

Mae opened her mouth to say something along the lines of “That sounds really boring.” but managed to stop herself. _Nope. This is Bea’s night. Let her have this._ She just nodded and smiled and walked off again. She gazed around at her fellow partygoers. They were all already in little groups and she didn’t recognise anyone. She would have felt weird barging in on any of their conversations. _Just be yourself, Bea said! That easy!_ So why was she finding this so hard? Jackie suddenly appeared at her elbow.

“Why don’t you get a drink? Keep yourself busy for a bit.”

“I promised not to drink.”

“Huh. Probably for the best.”

“… _Tacos._ ” came a distant memory. “Probably.”

Mae turned to head over to a small table stacked with food over in one corner of the clearing. There were small sandwiches, sausage rolls and other assorted cheap foods. Nothing special, but it would do. She grabbed handfuls of food and began to pile it up on a little paper plate.

“Avoid the chips.” Jackie popped up by her side again “They’re kind of stale.”

“Thanks. Are you just going to follow me around all night?”

“Well Bea is busy, I don’t know or don’t like most of these other people…”

“You don’t like me either. In fact, you barely know me.”

“I know enough about you, Mae Borowski. And the point I was going to make is that someone needs to keep an eye on you.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky, getting all the fun jobs tonight?” Mae grimaced through mouthfuls of food.

Jackie recoiled to avoid being sprayed by bits of half chewed pastry.

“Ugh. This party is kind of lame anyway. No one’s even dancing.”

Mae suddenly gave a manic grin.

“I know how we could spice things up.”

Jackie gave her a wary stare.

“Oh?”

“Let’s you and me have a knife fight back in the woods over there.”

“A knife fight? What kind of insane idea is that?” Jackie spluttered.

“You wanted something fun to do. And it might help you get some of that repressed hatred out of your system.” Mae nodded sagely, as if she had just imparted great wisdom upon the world.

“Repressed hatred…? I don’t want to stab you, you moron! I just wouldn’t mind hitting you in the face!”

“Well, you know what? Take your best shot. But not here.”

“Are you… are we… are we really doing this? We’re just going to fight, in the woods, at night?”

“Everyone knows you love punching shit. Come on then. Punch some shit.”

There was a pause as Jackie just stared disbelievingly at Mae. Then her face broke into a broad grin. She wrapped one hand around the knuckles of the other and cracked them menacingly.

“You know what? Fine. Let’s go blow off some steam.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jackie and Mae lay panting side by side in the dark of the woods, their jackets lying abandoned nearby. Mae had several bleeding knuckles, and a large bruise on her cheek from where she suffered a particularly clobbering blow. Her whole body ached, but it was a good pain, she realised, as she lay on the hard ground with twigs poking into her back. She always did enjoy a good fight. And she had to admit, Jackie really knew how to throw a damn good punch. She hadn’t been able to see exactly how much damage she had done to the other woman, as they had been essentially boxing each other’s silhouettes in the dark, but she knew she had landed some hard blows.

Jackie sat up, still slightly gasping for breath, and pulled her glasses out of the pocket where she had been keeping them safe, replacing them on her face. Even through the dark, Mae could feel the shrewd look Jackie threw her way.

“You know… that wasn’t half bad. You actually know how to hit.”

“Thanks.” Mae sighed contentedly. She looked around the dark clearing they had found to stage their fight. A steep incline led back up to the row of trees surrounding the party clearing. She gazed soulfully at the shadow of a large, broken off branch.

“I used to come have knife fights in places like this all the time in my teens.” She murmured.

“In the daytime, I assume.” Jackie snorted.

“Yeah.” Mae grinned “But I think that was almost better.”

“My pleasure.” Jackie replied dryly.

There was another long silence, but it was less awkward this time. Mae felt glad that on some level, at least, she and Jackie understood one another.

Jackie’s voice broke through the darkness between them, sounding surprisingly gentle for once.

“You know, Mae Borowski, you aren’t a _complete_ asshole.”

“Thanks, I’ll tell my therapist you said that.”

Jackie started to laugh and Mae felt oddly warm at the sound. After a few seconds, the laughter stopped.

“You go to therapy?” Jackie sounded genuinely… concerned? And Mae, for whatever reason, felt like she could trust Jackie. Maybe it was the adrenaline from the fight taking a while to wear off, maybe it was the fact that neither woman could see the other’s face in the dark, maybe the sausage rolls had been spiked with alcohol. For whatever reason, Mae decided to be honest with Jackie.

“Yeah. Been going ever since I beat up that kid in high school.”

“Oh my God. I remember that. Everyone was terrified of you.”

“I know.” Mae shifted uncomfortably on the ground “I know a lot of people still don’t trust me because of that either. And I guess I can’t totally blame them. But… it wasn’t me. I didn’t want to… something just… broke… inside me. And it’s been broken ever since.”

Jackie stayed silent, listening. Mae swallowed, then continued.

“Thing is… I… I don’t know if it’s helping. The therapy, I mean. All I got told to do was keep a dumb journal. And I guess it helps a little? But I’m still… broken. I think I always will be. ”

“Doctor Hank, huh?” Jackie asked.

“Yeah.”

“He’s the worst. When I started transitioning I went to him first and he knows absolutely _nothing_. I’m not surprised he couldn’t help you. You ought to go out of town.” She added thoughtfully.

“I’d like to but being in Possum Springs… home… I don’t know, it helps. It helps a lot. Being there with Bea, and my other friends, and my parents. Even with all that’s changed, being home makes me feel safer. Less broken. Being home with the people I love and trust the most.”

“Bea really does mean that much to you, huh…” Jackie mused.

“She’s my best friend.”

“Even though you didn’t speak for years before you came home?”

Mae felt a wave of shame wash over her. She sat up slowly and thought for a minute before replying.

“Look, I’m not proud of what I did. I wish I had been there for her. Especially with all the shit she’s gone through in recent years.”

She went on, choosing her words carefully.

 “I guess I’m trying to make up for lost time now.”

“She really missed you, you know.” Jackie mumbled “When you stopped talking to each other. I told her you were a big asshole just to make her feel better.”

Mae gave a sad little laugh.

“You were a better friend back then than I ever could have been.”

“That’s because… Bea saved me, I think.”

“Saved you?”

“Back when I first came out as a woman, almost everybody thought I was a creep, or a weirdo. Bea was one of the only people who accepted me. We were two lonely girls back then. But we got through it thanks to each other.” She smiled wistfully, then sat up. “She was a tough cookie even back then. She taught me to stand up for myself. To be proud.”

“Well she did a good job. Look at you now!”

“Yeah.” Jackie chuckled.

“You know.” Mae began slowly “I’m kind of jealous of you.”

“Jealous? Why?”

Mae hesitated.

“Well… you’re so… cool! And smart. And confident in yourself. All of the things I’m not. You go to college. You host big parties that everyone loves. You have your shit together. You’re like… a much better friend to Bea than I could ever be.”

Jackie snorted.

“Being a good friend isn’t about being smart or cool or whatever. It’s about being there for them when you can, like you said.” she went quiet for a moment. Mae could hear the wind shaking the leaves on the trees and the distant murmur of partygoers. “If anything, I should be jealous of you.”

“Of me? What?”

“You get to spend a lot more time with Bea now than I do. Since I went off to college…” she sighed heavily and lay back down “I don’t see her much now outside of parties. I really wanted her to come with me, but…” she shrugged “Shit happened.”

“It sure did.” Mae whispered hoarsely.

“Although I guess that will change again soon, huh?”

Mae frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Well she’s leaving for college this year, isn’t she?”

Mae froze. Her body went numb. She felt her mouth flap open as she struggled to find words.

“What…?” was all she could manage.

“She’s going to college this year.” Jackie repeated patiently “Remember?”

No. This was a mistake. This wasn’t happening. Jackie was just having a joke with her, surely?

“I mean, you knew… didn’t you?” Jackie whispered. She didn’t sound like she was joking.

Mae remained silent. Bea would never plan to go off to college without telling her, would she? No. Never. They were friends. Bea would have told her. Wouldn’t she? Thoughts whirled round and round in her head at the speed of light. No. No, she had to be sure. She had to go and ask Bea herself. Right now. She scrambled to her feet and leapt back up the slope towards the bonfire. She heard Jackie cry out behind her but she didn’t listen. She had to know, right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mae burst back into the clearing at a run and skidded to a halt. She frantically swept her head around. Where was Bea? Goddammit, she had disappeared again. She began to run from one group of people to the next, checking amongst all of them. They stared at her in confusion, but she didn’t care. Where was Bea? She still couldn’t see her. Exhausted, she hunched over by the fire with her hands on her knees, feeling more and more anxious by the second.

“Mae!” came a shout. She span around, scanning the area. Jackie was across the clearing, waving to her. “Mae!” she called again “She’s over here!”

Panting for breath now, Mae ran over to her and saw Bea propped up on her arm. She looked extremely tired.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s drunk.” Jackie sighed “I found her sat on a log back there.”

“Drunk? She’s meant to be driving!”

“Tell that to her.”

“Bea would never drink if she was supposed to drive afterwards.” Mae said resolutely.

“No.” Jackie agreed “Which means… one of these bastards here spiked her drink.” She glared at a group of boys huddled up nearby and snarled. Several of them had been peering over and they turned guiltily away when they saw Jackie staring.

Mae looked worriedly at Bea’s face. Her mouth was hanging open slightly and her eyelids were drooping.

“She really doesn’t look well. We need to get her out of here.”

Jackie looked like she was ready to fight again but she took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s go. Back to her car.”

Mae took a firm grip of Bea’s other arm and the three of them shuffled over to the row of cars on the opposite side of the clearing. It was difficult going because of the height difference between the three girls. As they passed the group of boys, who all had their heads down, muttering amongst themselves, Jackie hissed to them.

“I hope you’re all pleased with yourselves.”

“It was just a joke!” one of them cried, looking up in alarm “We didn’t mean anything by it!”

“You know what’s gonna be a funny joke?” Jackie said hotly, her voice rising “When we send you idiots the effing hospital bill for alcohol poisoning!”

The three girls finally made it back to Bea’s car. A sick feeling started to build in Mae’s stomach as she struggled to get the rear door open.

“Do you really think she could have alcohol poisoning?”

Jackie shrugged uncomfortably, nearly dropping Bea in the process.

 “I don’t know. I hope not. But I think we ought to go to hospital with her, just in case. At least she can rest there.”

“Okay.” Mae nodded, though she still looked uncertain. Groaning and huffing, the two of them eventually got the now completely unconscious Bea sat down in the back seat. Mae went to cover Bea with her jacket to keep her warm, but realised she had left it back in the woods. No way was she going all the way back for it at a time like this though. Jackie instead covered her with an old blanket she found in the trunk, then looked sheepishly at Mae over the top of the car.

“I know this is a terrible time to ask, but… you can drive, right?”

It had never occurred to Mae that Jackie might not be able to drive, and she gaped at the other girl in shock. She had just assumed, what with Jackie seeming much more… adult, and all, that she could.

“Um… yes, I can.”

  _Just not officially,_ she thought privately. But Bea wouldn’t mind if she borrowed her car now. This was an emergency.

Mae opened the driver’s door and shifted nervously as she gazed at the steering wheel. _It’ll be fine,_ she reassured herself. _You’ve done this before._

_Have I?_ That little voice was in her head again. _Have I driven before, at night, through a forest and then down a highway to the nearest hospital, which is miles away, while my friend is depending on me?_

“Mae.” Jackie said soothingly, shaking her back to reality “It’ll be okay. But we need to go, right now.”

Mae swallowed, then took a deep breath before sliding in behind the wheel. Jackie got in on the passenger’s side and passed her the keys she had fished out of Bea’s pocket, looking expectantly at her, as Mae slowly gripped the steering wheel with both hands and stared straight ahead through the windshield.

“Okay. Okay, I got this.”

Engine on. Release the handbrake. Reverse gear. Back up. First gear. Put your foot down on the pedal, nice and gently. Grip the wheel firmly but don’t tense up. Eyes on the road. Crap. Put the headlights on, dammit. It’s dark. She knew the routine from months of practice but she broke out in a cold sweat now. She had never dealt well with pressure. She didn’t want to be the one people depended on to get things done. Bea was the smart one, the one who worked hard and kept a store running and had always gotten good grades in class. Oh God, Bea. She instinctively glanced in the rear-view mirror as they hurtled down the forest road, but all she could see of her friend was a black shape in the back seat. _Please be okay, Bea,_ she wished. _I won’t be mad you didn’t tell me that you’re going away. Just be okay._

_I don’t want to lose you again._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After an extremely tense hour on the road, they made it to the nearest hospital, in the next town over, which was slightly bigger than Possum Springs. Bea was still unconscious when they burst into the hospital, but fortunately it was late enough at night for the emergency room to be quiet and they soon got her in to see a doctor. Mae collapsed in one of the waiting room chairs and after calling Mr. Santello and her own parents to let them all know what had happened, she promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. She had fitful dreams full of bonfires and shadows and voices calling out to her and woke up an hour later feeling still thoroughly worn out. She realised her drooping head was propped up on something warm and hard then looked up to see Jackie. The taller girl gave Mae a small smile. “You drool in your sleep.”

“Oh God… I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay.” Jackie chuckled “Weird night, huh?” she tried to joke, but Mae could hear the tiredness in her voice.

“You can say that again.” Mae replied groggily.

They sat in silence for a while. Mae felt there were a lot of unsaid things hanging in the air between them, that neither of them knew how to say, but in that moment, she was glad Jackie was there. She wouldn’t have wanted to wait alone, in that quiet, empty room.

“You two are here for Beatrice Santello?” a nurse approached them holding a clipboard.

“Yes!” the girls answered together.

The nurse smiled tiredly.

“You can go in and see the patient now. She’s going to be just fine, but we’re going to let her rest here overnight and run some more tests in the morning.”

Mae let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. _Thank God. Bea is going to be alright. Everything is going to be alright. Even if she is leaving… she’s alive, at least. I haven’t lost her._

They quickly followed the nurse to a small room at the end of a corridor. Bea was tucked into the solitary bed, sound asleep, with a drip connected to her left arm. Mae fell into one of the metal chairs next to the bed and Jackie softly sat down next to her. The nurse milled about the room checking screens and taking notes on her clipboard, then quietly left them.

Jackie gently patted Mae’s knee, then slowly reached out and took Bea’s hand from where it lay on the bed, stroking it tenderly.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Bea.” she whispered “I didn’t want to have to leave you behind again.”

Mae glanced at her and was startled to see tears running out from behind her glasses. A sniff turned into a sob and before she knew it Jackie was hunched over where she sat, shaking uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry, I’m just… really overwhelmed by all of this.”

“It’s okay.” Mae shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn’t know how to handle people crying at the best of times. “It _has_ been a weird night.”

Jackie gave a choking laugh, before getting up out of her seat, letting Bea’s hand fall back on the bed.

“I’m gonna… go wait outside for a minute. Get some fresh air.”

“Alright.” Mae nodded. “I’ll stay with her.”

“Thanks, Mae.”

Jackie wiped her glasses off on her shirt, then hastened out of the room, still sniffing, leaving Mae and Bea alone together. Mae watched her sleeping friend, and sighed. She looked so peaceful. More peaceful than she ever looked awake. She was always going at it so hard, doing enough work for two people every day of the week. Mae knew more than anyone how much Bea needed to get away from Possum Springs. But still, she couldn’t help but think…

“Why didn’t you tell me, Bea?” she said softly.

She leaned over to softly stroke her forehead and as she did so, Bea’s eyes fluttered open and her dark eyes focused on Mae’s bright ones.

 “Mae…?” she croaked.

“Bea! Oh thank God, you’re okay!”

“Define ‘okay’” Bea sat up gingerly “I have a splitting headache.”

“I’m not surprised. That alcohol knocked you out for a while.”

“Alcohol?... Oh, right.” Bea muttered “I don’t really remember what happened…”

“You got drunk.” Mae rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t feel it until it was already too late.” Bea said pleadingly.

“Well, you’re going to have to be more cautious in the future.”

Despite being stuck in a hospital bed, hungover, in the middle of the night, Bea cracked a smile.

“Mae Borowski, are you really lecturing _me_ on responsibility?”

“Yes, Beatrice. Yes I am.”

The two friends gazed at each other in silence for a long time, but they were both smiling and it wasn’t an awkward silence, but a comfortable one, the kind of silence only two good friends can share.

“Mae.” Bea said at last “When I get out of here, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“I know.” Mae said quietly “I know you’re leaving soon.”

“You do?” Bea gaped “Did Jackie…?”

“Yeah. She thought I knew though.”

Bea groaned.

“I wanted to tell you sooner but… I knew you’d be upset, what with Gregg and Angus leaving for Bright Harbor soon too and I… I’ve really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together since you came home, Mae. I really have. I didn’t want to make you sad and ruin that, so I just kept putting it off and now…”

Mae hung her head.

“It’s… okay.”

“Is it?”

“Possum Springs isn’t for you anymore, Bea. You’ve earned better. I want you to go and be happy. You deserve that.”

A warm smile spread over Bea’s face, reaching from the corners of her mouth right up to her eyes. It was the happiest she’d looked in a long time, despite the tears still collected in her eyes.

“Mae… thanks.”

Mae mustered up a shy grin.

“Anything for you, Bea. Just… promise me you’ll come and visit once in a while.”

“Of course!” Bea gave a relieved laugh “I have to visit my dad after all. I’m sure I’ll make time for you in there somewhere.” she teased.

“Your dad’s taking over the shop then?”

“We’re selling it off to someone new. Using the money to pay for college. Dad’s still going through a lot of pain but… he said he wants me to make something of myself. Said that’s what mom would have wanted.”

“Wow.” Mae breathed “Everything keeps changing in Possum Springs.”

“I hope it doesn’t change too much while I’m gone.” Bea said thoughtfully.

“If it does, you’ll know how I felt when I came back.” Mae said playfully.

“Ha…”

Bea started to look a little wistful. Mae remembered when she had been about to leave for college. She had been filled with apprehension. She didn’t know if she would enjoy college, if she would cope with it, if she would even make any friends. She remembered how out of place she had always felt on campus. But Bea wasn’t like that. She would belong at college. Yet Possum Springs would always be home to her just as much as it had been for Mae. Even with its dusty old streets and its tired old factories and its sinkholes, it was home. And so was she.

“So, um…” Mae decided broke the melancholy air “I’m sorry if your car has any scratches or dents in it that weren’t there before.”

Bea stared at her disbelievingly.

“You _drove_ my car here?”

“You’re welcome.”

Bea stared at her for a second then threw her head back onto the pillow and groaned.

“Mae Borowski, you really are something special.”

“That’s funny, Mae. I don’t remember you getting your license just yet.” A stern voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Mae wheeled round in her seat to see her aunt standing in the doorway in full police uniform, glaring at her with suspicious eyes.

“Aunt Mall… I mean, Aunt Molly! What are you doing here?” Mae cried.

“I brought Mr. Santello in the squad car.” Molly replied in a passive tone “Your mother told me what had happened.” she glanced over a Bea and her face softened “Glad to see you’re alright, Beatrice. Your father was worried sick. Just try to take it easy on the alcohol in the future, yeah?”

“Uh… yeah.” Bea said, wringing her hands.

“Beatrice!” another voice screeched from outside the room. Mr. Santello burst into the room in his slippers and dressing gown. He caught sight of his daughter lying in bed and gasped, stumbling towards her “Oh my God… thank the heavens you’re alright…” he barraged Bea’s cheeks with kisses and then moved in for a rather painful looking hug.

“Not… so… tight, Dad.” Bea rasped, her teeth gritted.

“I thought I was going to lose you too.” her father sobbed.

“Dad…” Bea murmured. Her cheeks had reddened and her eyes looked watery again. Mae hadn’t seen Mr. Santello show that much affection to his daughter in years.

“Well.” Mae stood up “It’s getting a little crowded in here. I’ll be right outside.”

“Don’t you touch that car, Mae.” her aunt was looking her up and down “I’ve got my eye on you.”

“Noted.” Mae quipped “I’ll go and make sure Jackie’s okay.”

“Oh, she’s here too?” Bea looked surprised.

“Yeah. She helped me out. I think we’re cool now.”

Bea snorted.

“What’s so funny?” Mae frowned.

Bea shook her head.

“I knew you two idiots would get along if you tried.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mae stepped outside into the cold night air. It was quiet and for the first time that night she was alone. She could just breathe. The events of the last few hours had become condensed in her mind. It seemed like a week ago that she had met Bea outside her house. She knew it would take a long time to sort through all of her feelings about that night, but at least it seemed to be over now. She could breathe.

A tiny glow caught her eye and she turned to see Jackie sat on a bench some way off, smoking a cigarette. Mae walked over to her. She could see bags under her eyes, born of tiredness and worry and Mae realised she must look just as bad herself, if not worse.

“Hey.” Mae said, perching herself next to her… friend? Mae wasn’t sure what to call how she felt about Jackie now. She had trusted the other girl with a lot that night, but they weren’t exactly close either. Yet when she thought of Jackie, Mae felt a strange warmth and more than anything… respect.

“Hey Mae.” Jackie said, looking at the ground.

Mae glanced at the cigarette in Jackie’s hand.

“I didn’t know you smoked.”

“Only when I’m really stressed.” Jackie sighed “Been trying to stop.”

“Are you going to be alright?”

Jackie turned to face her, looking amused.

“I didn’t know you cared, Mae.”

Mae noticed a large bruise on Jackie’s other cheek from where she had landed a solid blow earlier and felt a twinge of guilt.

“I never wanted to be your enemy, Jackie.”

Jackie looked down at her feet again and let the cigarette slip between her fingers before grinding it into the ground with her boot.

“I know.”

“I don’t think we’re really friends either. I don’t know. But I’m… glad you exist.”

Jackie snorted.

“I think that’s about as good as it’s gonna get, huh?”

Mae hesitated for a second, then blurted out loud.

“Do you think Bea will forget about me? When she goes away?”

Jackie raised an eyebrow at her.

“Did I forget about her when I moved away?”

Mae looked up at the stars twinkling above them.

“No.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first piece of fanfic I have ever written, so let that stand as a testament to how much I love this game.
> 
> I absolutely adore the MaeBea pairing, but I also love them as a platonic pair and I wanted to show that kind of relationship here, as well as running through a post-game "what if?" type scenario. Another big inspiration for this story was me wanting to give Jackie some spotlight, since I think she's a really cool character, who was sadly limited to just one big scene in the game proper (and she was kind of a meanie in that scene). Give the goat girl some love guys.
> 
> Anyway, this was just a casual affair I smashed out in a week, but I would be happy to hear feedback from anyone reading this. Did you like it? Any glaring issues that stood out to you? Spelling/ grammar errors? Let me know! I'm hoping to write a piece centered on Lori soon too, so if reception is good I will very likely post that here later!
> 
> And lastly, thanks for reading and for any kudos, comments etc.!


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